US20070096764A1 - Immersion exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents
Immersion exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20070096764A1 US20070096764A1 US11/586,527 US58652706A US2007096764A1 US 20070096764 A1 US20070096764 A1 US 20070096764A1 US 58652706 A US58652706 A US 58652706A US 2007096764 A1 US2007096764 A1 US 2007096764A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- substrate
- interposer
- structural unit
- holding unit
- unit
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- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
- G03F7/70216—Mask projection systems
- G03F7/70341—Details of immersion lithography aspects, e.g. exposure media or control of immersion liquid supply
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an immersion exposure apparatus and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
- Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-193252 proposes a structure that prevents the liquid from flowing out.
- this proposal poses various problems because the structure is fixed to the apparatus. For example, when the substrate is set on a substrate holding unit (wafer chuck or the like), the structure disadvantageously constitutes an obstacle to the setting of the substrate.
- a semiconductor wafer (semiconductor substrate) 11 to be exposed is held on a wafer chuck (wafer holding unit) 12 .
- a projection lens 13 is placed above the wafer chuck 12 .
- a mask chuck (mask holding unit) 15 is placed above the projection lens 13 to hold a photo mask 14 .
- the photo mask 14 is irradiated with illumination light from a light source (not shown).
- a mask pattern on the photo mask 14 is projected on the semiconductor wafer 11 by supplying exposure light having passed through the photo mask 14 to the semiconductor wafer 11 via the projection lens 13 .
- a structural unit 21 having a wall like outer shape is placed around the wafer chuck 12 .
- the structural unit 21 surrounds the wafer chuck 12 .
- the top surface of the structural unit 21 is higher than that of the semiconductor wafer 11 held on the wafer chuck 12 .
- the interposer 22 is usually housed in the structural unit 21 .
- a housing container 23 may be provided in addition to the structural unit 21 so that the interposer 22 can be housed in the housing container 23 .
- the interposer 22 discharged from the housing container 23 is supplied to the area between the structural unit 21 and the semiconductor wafer 11 via a tube 24 and the structural unit 21 .
- the structural unit 21 supplies the interposer 22 to the area between the semiconductor wafer 11 held on the wafer chuck 12 and the structural unit 21 . This places the interposer 22 between the semiconductor wafer 11 and the structural unit 21 (S 2 ).
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Exposure And Positioning Against Photoresist Photosensitive Materials (AREA)
- Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)
Abstract
An immersion exposure apparatus includes a substrate holding unit which holds a substrate to be exposed, a projection lens provided above the substrate holding unit to supply exposure light to the substrate held on the substrate holding unit, a liquid supply unit which supplies a liquid to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens, and a structural unit which surrounds the substrate holding unit and which is configured to supply an interposer to an area between the structural unit and the substrate held on the substrate holding unit.
Description
- This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-313256, filed Oct. 27, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an immersion exposure apparatus and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- The reduced size and increased integration level of semiconductor devices have made what is called immersion exposure important; the immersion exposure is a technique for carrying out exposure with a liquid such as water interposed between a substrate to be exposed and a projection lens in an exposure apparatus. However, with the immersion exposure, the liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate may disadvantageously flow out of the substrate, which contaminates the apparatus.
- To solve this problem, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-193252 proposes a structure that prevents the liquid from flowing out. However, this proposal poses various problems because the structure is fixed to the apparatus. For example, when the substrate is set on a substrate holding unit (wafer chuck or the like), the structure disadvantageously constitutes an obstacle to the setting of the substrate.
- Thus, with the immersion exposure, the liquid for the immersion exposure may disadvantageously contaminate the apparatus. However, not all the conventional immersion exposure apparatuses comprise appropriate structures for preventing contamination.
- According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an immersion exposure apparatus comprising: a substrate holding unit which holds a substrate to be exposed; a projection lens provided above the substrate holding unit to supply exposure light to the substrate held on the substrate holding unit; a liquid supply unit which supplies a liquid to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens; and a structural unit which surrounds the substrate holding unit and which is configured to supply an interposer to an area between the structural unit and the substrate held on the substrate holding unit.
- According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the immersion exposure apparatus according to
claim 1, the method comprising: holding the substrate on the substrate holding unit; supplying the interposer from the structural unit to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the structural unit; supplying a liquid from the liquid supply unit to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens; and supplying exposure light to the substrate through the projection lens with the liquid interposed between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens. -
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the general configuration of an immersion exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the arrangement of a semiconductor wafer and the like according to the embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing how the immersion exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is used; -
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a modification of the immersion exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing another modification of the immersion exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing still another modification of the immersion exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; and -
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the immersion exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. - An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the general configuration of an immersion exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. - As is the case with conventional immersion exposure apparatuses, a semiconductor wafer (semiconductor substrate) 11 to be exposed is held on a wafer chuck (wafer holding unit) 12. A
projection lens 13 is placed above thewafer chuck 12. A mask chuck (mask holding unit) 15 is placed above theprojection lens 13 to hold aphoto mask 14. Thephoto mask 14 is irradiated with illumination light from a light source (not shown). A mask pattern on thephoto mask 14 is projected on thesemiconductor wafer 11 by supplying exposure light having passed through thephoto mask 14 to thesemiconductor wafer 11 via theprojection lens 13. - A liquid supply/
recovery unit 16 supplies aliquid 17 for immersion exposure to the area between thesemiconductor wafer 11 held on thewafer chuck 12 and theprojection lens 13. The liquid supply/recovery unit 16 does not supply theliquid 17 to the entire principal surface of the semiconductor wafer 11 but to a partial area of the principal surface. The suppliedliquid 17 can be recovered by the liquid supply/recovery unit 16. Theliquid 17 is, for example, water. Resolution can be increased by carrying out exposure with theliquid 17 interposed between thesemiconductor wafer 11 and theprojection lens 13. - The
wafer chuck 12 and themask chuck 15 can each move (scan) relative to theprojection lens 13. Moving thewafer chuck 12 andmask chuck 15 to a desired position for exposure enables the mask pattern formed on thephoto mask 14 at a desired position to be projected on thesemiconductor wafer 11 at a desired position. The position of theliquid 17 on thesemiconductor wafer 11 also varies with the movement of thewafer chuck 12. - A
structural unit 21 having a wall like outer shape is placed around thewafer chuck 12. Thestructural unit 21 surrounds thewafer chuck 12. The top surface of thestructural unit 21 is higher than that of thesemiconductor wafer 11 held on thewafer chuck 12. - The
structural unit 21 can supply aninterposer 22 to the area between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11.FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the positional relationship between thesemiconductor wafer 11, thestructural unit 21 and theinterposer 22. Theinterposer 22 thus interposed between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 makes it possible to prevent the downward leakage of theliquid 17 flowing out of thesemiconductor wafer 11. For example, as shown inFIG. 3 , even if thewafer chuck 12 moves to a position where it may cause theliquid 17 to fall from the end of thesemiconductor wafer 11, theinterposer 22 interposed between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 enables the leakage of theliquid 17 to be prevented. This makes it possible to prevent the apparatus from being disadvantageously contaminated with theliquid 17 flowing out of thesemiconductor wafer 11. - The
interposer 22 is usually not interposed between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 but is, for example, housed in thestructural unit 21. For immersion exposure, the interposer 22 projects out of thestructural unit 21 toward the outer periphery of thesemiconductor wafer 11. Theinterposer 22 is then placed between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor 11. Thus, theinterposer 22 is not always fixed and is usually not interposed between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11. This makes it possible to avoid the problem that when thesemiconductor wafer 11 is set on thewafer chuck 12, theinterposer 22 constitutes an obstacle to the setting of thesemiconductor wafer 11. - Since the semiconductor wafer 11 moves together with the
wafer chuck 12, the spacing between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 is not fixed but varies depending on the position as shown inFIG. 3 . Accordingly, theinterposer 22 is controlled so that the projection amount (projection width) of theinterposer 22 varies in response to the movement of thewafer chuck 12. - The
interposer 22 may be, for example, a deformable flexible material. Specifically, theinterposer 22 may be plastic, which maintains a shape resulting from deformation as it is, or elastomer, the shape of which changes from one resulting from deformation back to the original one when an external force is removed. The elastomer may be a thin film in which a gas or liquid is sealed. If a deformable flexible material is used as theinterposer 22, theinterposer 22 is deformed depending on the shape of outer periphery of thesemiconductor wafer 11. This allows theinterposer 22 to adhere easily to the outer periphery of thesemiconductor wafer 11. - Alternatively, the
interposer 22 may be a rigid material formed of metal or nonmetal instead of the deformable flexible material. For example, as shown inFIG. 4 , a plate-like material can be used as theinterposer 22. - A washing mechanism may be provided inside the
structural unit 21 to wash theinterposer 22. Contaminants such as the liquid for immersion exposure often adhere to the surface of theinterposer 22. The washing mechanism provided inside thestructural unit 21 enables theinterposer 22 to be effectively washed after theinterposer 22 has been housed in thestructural unit 21. - In the above embodiment, the
interposer 22 is usually housed in thestructural unit 21. However, as shown inFIG. 5 , ahousing container 23 may be provided in addition to thestructural unit 21 so that theinterposer 22 can be housed in thehousing container 23. In this case, theinterposer 22 discharged from thehousing container 23 is supplied to the area between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 via atube 24 and thestructural unit 21. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , asupply container 25 and arecovery container 26 are provided; thesupply container 25 supplies theinterposer 22 and therecovery container 26 recovers theinterposer 22. In this case, theinterposer 22 discharged from thesupply container 25 is supplied to the area between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 via atube 27 and thestructural unit 21. Theinterposer 22 interposed between thestructural unit 21 and thesemiconductor wafer 11 is recovered into therecovery container 26 via thestructural unit 21 and atube 28. Thus, the separately providedsupply container 25 andrecovery container 26 make it possible to prevent the usedinterposer 22 from disadvantageously contaminating theunused interposer 22. - In the above embodiment, the
interposer 22 is contacted with the outer periphery of thesemiconductor wafer 11. However, a small gap may be present between theinterposer 22 and thesemiconductor wafer 11. In spite of the small gap, surface tension enables the liquid 17 to be held. - Now, with reference to the flowchart shown in
FIG. 7 , description will be given of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the above immersion exposure apparatus. - First, the
semiconductor wafer 11 to be exposed is held on the wafer chuck 12 (S1). Films to be processed (conductive film or insulating film) and a photo resist film are formed on thesemiconductor wafer 11. - The
structural unit 21 supplies theinterposer 22 to the area between thesemiconductor wafer 11 held on thewafer chuck 12 and thestructural unit 21. This places theinterposer 22 between thesemiconductor wafer 11 and the structural unit 21 (S2). - Then, the liquid supply/
recovery unit 16 supplies the liquid 17 for immersion exposure to the area between thesemiconductor wafer 11 held on thewafer chuck 12 and the projection lens 13 (S3). As a result, the liquid 17 is interposed between thesemiconductor wafer 11 and theprojection lens 13. - Then, exposure is carried out with the liquid 17 interposed between the
semiconductor wafer 11 and the projection lens 13 (S4). That is, the mask pattern on thephoto mask 14 is projected on thesemiconductor wafer 11 via theprojection lens 13 andliquid 17. A latent image corresponding to the mask pattern is formed in the photo resist. - Then, a photo resist pattern is formed by development. The films to be processed are etched using the photo resist pattern as a mask to form a processed pattern corresponding to the mask pattern (S5).
- As described above, the present embodiment interposes the
interposer 22 between thesemiconductor wafer 11 and thestructural unit 21. This makes it possible to prevent the downward leakage of the liquid 17 for immersion exposure. Therefore, the apparatus can be prevented from being contaminated with the liquid 17. - The
interposer 22 is supplied by thestructural unit 21 and is not always present between thesemiconductor wafer 11 and thestructural unit 21. This makes it possible to avoid the problem that when thesemiconductor wafer 11 is set on thewafer chuck 12, theinterposer 22 constitutes an obstacle to the setting of the semiconductor wafer. Therefore, thesemiconductor wafer 11 can be easily and steadily set on thewafer chuck 12. Further, since theinterposer 22 is not always present between thesemiconductor wafer 11 and thestructural unit 21, it can be easily washed. - As a result, the productivity and yield of semiconductor devices can be improved by using the immersion exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment to manufacture semiconductor devices.
- Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims (14)
1. An immersion exposure apparatus comprising:
a substrate holding unit which holds a substrate to be exposed;
a projection lens provided above the substrate holding unit to supply exposure light to the substrate held on the substrate holding unit;
a liquid supply unit which supplies a liquid to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens; and
a structural unit which surrounds the substrate holding unit and which is configured to supply an interposer to an area between the structural unit and the substrate held on the substrate holding unit.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the interposer supplied by the structural unit contacts an outer periphery of the substrate.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the interposer is deformable.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the interposer is elastic.
5. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the interposer is plastic.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid supply unit supplies the liquid to a partial area on the substrate held on the substrate holding unit.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate holding unit is movable.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein a projection amount by which the interposer projects from the structural unit toward the substrate varies in response to movement of the substrate holding unit.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the structural unit has a wall-like outer shape.
10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the interposer is housed in the structural unit before the interposer is supplied to the area between the structural unit and the substrate.
11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the interposer is housed in a housing container different from the structural unit before the interposer is supplied to the area between the structural unit and the substrate.
12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the interposer supplied to the area between the structural unit and the substrate is recovered into a recovery container different from the structural unit.
13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate includes a semiconductor wafer.
14. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the immersion exposure apparatus according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
holding the substrate on the substrate holding unit;
supplying the interposer from the structural unit to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the structural unit;
supplying a liquid from the liquid supply unit to an area between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens; and
supplying exposure light to the substrate through the projection lens with the liquid interposed between the substrate held on the substrate holding unit and the projection lens.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2005313256A JP2007123525A (en) | 2005-10-27 | 2005-10-27 | Immersion exposure device and manufacturing method of semiconductor device |
JP2005-313256 | 2005-10-27 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20070096764A1 true US20070096764A1 (en) | 2007-05-03 |
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Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US11/586,527 Abandoned US20070096764A1 (en) | 2005-10-27 | 2006-10-26 | Immersion exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device |
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US (1) | US20070096764A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2007123525A (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070229787A1 (en) * | 2006-03-29 | 2007-10-04 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Exposure apparatus |
US20100136796A1 (en) * | 2008-12-02 | 2010-06-03 | Masayuki Hatano | Substrate holding member, immersion type exposure device and method of fabricating semiconductor device |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040160582A1 (en) * | 2002-11-12 | 2004-08-19 | Asml Netherlands B.V. | Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method |
US20050286033A1 (en) * | 2004-06-23 | 2005-12-29 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Immersion lithography system with wafer sealing mechanisms |
-
2005
- 2005-10-27 JP JP2005313256A patent/JP2007123525A/en active Pending
-
2006
- 2006-10-26 US US11/586,527 patent/US20070096764A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040160582A1 (en) * | 2002-11-12 | 2004-08-19 | Asml Netherlands B.V. | Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method |
US20050286033A1 (en) * | 2004-06-23 | 2005-12-29 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Immersion lithography system with wafer sealing mechanisms |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070229787A1 (en) * | 2006-03-29 | 2007-10-04 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Exposure apparatus |
US7705969B2 (en) * | 2006-03-29 | 2010-04-27 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Exposure apparatus |
US20100136796A1 (en) * | 2008-12-02 | 2010-06-03 | Masayuki Hatano | Substrate holding member, immersion type exposure device and method of fabricating semiconductor device |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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JP2007123525A (en) | 2007-05-17 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KONO, TAKUYA;HIGASHIKI, TATSUHIKO;REEL/FRAME:018765/0569 Effective date: 20061106 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |